NCAA Approves Adjusted Fall Sports Championship Dates
LEXINGTON, Ky. – NCAA Division I fall championships will be conducted in the spring as outlined in recommendations from the Division I Council and supported by the Division I Presidential Forum, the Division I Board of Directors decided this week.
The Kentucky men’s and women’s soccer teams, volleyball and cross country teams will be affected by the shift in championship seasons.
The changes include reduced bracket sizes with preserved automatic qualification for conferences. In team sports, the brackets will be filled at 75% of their normal capacities.
Cross Country
The men’s and women’s cross country championships will be held on March 15 with a full field of 255 student-athletes per gender. Selections for the championships will be made on March 6 with the first allowable spring competition on January 23.
Men’s & Women’s Soccer
The 2020-21 men’s and women’s soccer NCAA Championships will be held May 13-17 with the selection shows to be held on April 18. For women’s soccer, the field will be reduced from 64 teams to 48, with 31 automatic qualifiers and 17 at-large bids. The men’s soccer championship will reduce to a 36-team field with 24 automatic qualifiers and 12 at-large bids. The first allowable spring competition for both is February 3.
Volleyball
The 2020-21 volleyball championship will be April 23-25. The NCAA selection show will be held on Sunday, April 4 with the field being reduced from 64 to 48 teams, comprised of 32 automatic qualifiers and 16 at-large bids. The first allowable competition date for volleyball in the spring is January 22.
The oversight committees may need to revisit this topic if conditions warrant nearer the time the playing and practice seasons for these sports begin, but for now, the committees support providing maximum flexibility for selection purposes.
The NCAA Board of Governors has directed that all sites of each championship be predetermined and that the number of preliminary-round sites be reduced to support health and safety and operational management of the championships this spring.
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